Birthday Butterflies
by Marymel
Summary: It's Grissom's birthday, but he has a special gift for Jackson.


**Jackson and Greta are my original characters, but I don't own CSI.**

 **Happy Birthday William Petersen! And happy birthday to my wonderful niece!**

 **I thought, since Jackson loves to talk about bugs with his Uncle Gil, he might want to celebrate his birthday. So here's what I came up with. Hope you enjoy...and pretty please review!**

Gil Grissom loved working with bugs, and was proud of his former team with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He could never completely leave his wife and CSI family. That was especially true when it came to Jackson Sanders, Greg's now eight-year-old son. Sara was right when she said he was Grissom Junior. So when Sara asked what Gil wanted for his birthday, he had a special request.

Greg and Jackson arrived at the Grissom's house with Morgan and Greta. Jackson happily rushed to Sara the moment she opened the door. "Aunt Sara!"

"Hey, sweetie!" Sara said as she hugged the sweet boy.

"Aunt Sara, I drew Uncle Gil a butterfly card for his birthday!" Jackson happily told her.

"Oh, he'll love that!" Sara told him. She smiled at her dear friends and their children. "Thanks for coming."

Gil smiled when he came in from the backyard and saw his wife with Greg's family. He had to admit he loved his extended CSI family. "There you are."

"Uncle Gil!" Jackson said as he rushed to hug him.

Gil laughed softly as he hugged the sweet child. "Hi, Jackson. Glad you could come."

"You said you had something to show him," Greg said.

"Yeah!" Jackson said with a big smile. "But why did you get me a present? It's your birthday."

Gil smiled warmly. "Well, this is something I thought we both might like. Come on, it's in the backyard." Gil took Jackson's hand and led him to the backyard with Sara and Jackson's family following.

When Jackson stepped into the yard, he gasped softly. "Whoa!"

There were a few butterflies around a plant in the backyard. Gil smiled as Jackson avidly watched the butterflies.

"Sara and I planted some plants to help the butterflies," Gil explained. "See the painted lady?" Gil asked as he pointed to a butterfly fluttering by a plant.

"Uh-huh," Jackson whispered. He was mesmerized.

"Sara planted zinnias," Gil said as he nodded to the flowers. "That's one of the plants they get nectar from."

"Oh," Jackson said softly. He walked into the yard and watched the butterfly with Grissom. Gil smiled as he watched Jackson study the butterfly.

"Uncle Gil, what's that one?" Jackson asked as he pointed to another plant.

"That is milkweed. Lots of butterflies use that for food or nectar."

Greg, Morgan and Sara smiled as they watched Jackson and Grissom study the butterflies. The two were in their element.

"Baba?" Greta asked as she watched her brother.

Jackson smiled at his family. "Greta, daddy, come 'ere! Look!"

Greg came and sat on the grass with Grissom and Jackson. "What did you find, Jacks?"

"Daddy, that is a painted lady butterfly," Jackson informed him. "It kinda looks like a monarch, but it doesn't have as much orange."

"Oh, I see." Greg loved seeing Jackson so happy and just fascinated with butterflies.

Gil loved seeing Jackson so interested, too. The young man asked about what other plants butterflies like and how many were in the garden.

Jackson smiled as one of the butterflies landed on Gil's straw hat. "I think that one likes you!"

"Maybe," Gil said with a soft laugh.

"Which one is that?" Greg asked Jackson.

"Hmm..." Jackson said as he looked at the red and black butterfly.

"It's a red admiral," Gil told them. "They get nectar from milkweed, too. And they get nectar from rotting fruit, so we leave out some old fruit for them."

"Oh!" Jackson said. He watched closely as the pretty butterflies fluttered around.

Sara and Morgan enjoyed their iced tea and loved watching the three of them study butterflies. Grissom loved that Greg's son was as interested in insects as he was.

"Who's having the better time?" Sara asked with a smile as Greg, Jackson and Grissom studied the butterflies.

"I know," Morgan said with a warm smile as Greta chatted away as if to ask what her brother and father were up to.

Jackson looked over and smiled at his sister. "Greta, do you like the butterflies?"

Greta babbled and reached for her brother. Greg stood and got Greta and brought her out into the yard with her brother and Grissom.

Jackson smiled and pointed to a butterfly on a nearby plant. "Greta, that's a red, um..."

"Admiral," Grissom whispered.

"Yeah," Jackson said with a smile. "A red admiral!"

The butterfly fluttered over and landed on Greta's foot. The baby girl watched as the pretty butterfly fluttered it's wings.

"Greta, look!" Jackson whispered. Sara and Morgan took video of the baby girl and her brother watching the butterfly.

"Ah!" Greta said. She started to reach for the butterfly, but Greg gently took her hand.

"I think he just wanted to say hi," Gil told Jackson as Greta cooed.

"Yeah," Jackson said with a smile. "Greta, I think the butterfly likes you!"

Just as Greta leaned over to try to touch the butterfly, it flew off to a nearby flower. "How about that, guys?" Greg asked his children.

"That was so cool!" Jackson said. "Greta, you saw your very first butterfly!"

"Ah!" Greta said as she watched the butterfly fly away. She cooed to her brother as if to ask if he saw it.

"Daddy, did you see that?" Jackson asked his father.

"Yeah," Greg said with a warm smile. He was having almost as much fun as Jackson, and his mentor was in his element with the bugs and the inquisitive child.

"Baba!" Greta shouted. "Ba!"

Jackson laughed softly. "Yeah! How about that, Greta? You had a butterfly on your shoe!"

"That means it likes her," Greg said. "Right?"

"Yeah!"

Sara and Morgan loved watching the four of them on their backyard bug hunt. To see Grissom tell Jackson about bugs and watching Greg and Greta with the two was priceless.

Gil smiled at Jackson as he showed Greg and Greta a ladybug on the grass. "Hey, Jackson? Thanks for letting me treat you and your dad to a bug hunt today."

"Your welcome," Jackson said with a smile. "And Greta saw her very first butterfly on her shoe!"

"Dada dada!" Greta said as she pointed to her brother.

"Yeah," Greg said to his baby girl. "Your brother knows almost as much about bugs as Uncle Gil, huh?"

Jackson and Gil laughed softly. Gil knew Greg and Jackson's bug hunts were something special for the two of them.

"Uncle Gil," Jackson asked. "Did you and your dad ever go on bug hunts together?"

"Sometimes," Gil said. "He knew all about plants, so he'd tell me about different bugs that used the plants. We didn't go looking for them like you and your dad do, though."

"That's something just for us, right Jacks?" Greg asked.

"Yeah!"

"Hey, guys?" Sara called. "Would you like some iced tea?"

"Sure," Gil said. Greg lifted Greta in his arms and they stood up to join Sara and Morgan on the back porch.

Jackson took Gil's hand. "I'm sorry you didn't get to go on a lot of bug hunts with your dad, Uncle Gil."

Gil smiled softly at the sweet child. "Thank you, Jackson. But you know what?" Jackson shook his head. "I'm happy you and your dad get to go on bug hunts together."

"Me too," Greg said as he smiled warmly at his son.

Jackson beamed at his father. "Me too!"

Greg handed Greta to Morgan as Jackson and Gil continued to talk about butterflies and Jackson's bug hunts with his dad. Greg couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched his son with his mentor. Sara and Morgan smiled too.

"Thanks again for inviting us," Morgan told Sara.

"Yeah!" Jackson said. "Mama, Greta saw a butterfly and it landed on her shoe!"

"I saw that," Morgan said with a warm smile. "I think she liked it, don't you?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, Jackson?" Sara said as she handed him the card he made for Grissom.

"Oh, yeah!" Jackson said. "I almost forgot! This is for you!"

"Happy birthday!" Greg, Morgan and Sara said.

Gil smiled as he looked at the butterflies Jackson had drawn on the paper with the words "happy birthday" in blue letters across the front. "This is very good," Gil told him.

"And look," Jackson said as he pointed to each one. "I drew a monarch butterfly, cause we're gonna go see 'em someday. And that's a yellow one, like the one you showed me in my book!"

"Berger's Clouded Yellow," Gil said with a nod. "That's very good. You're a very talented artist."

"Thank you!"

Everyone had to smile at Gil and Jackson together. They could talk about butterflies for hours.

Greta grew tired of not having her brother's attention and plopped her hand on his arm. "Baba! Ba!"

Jackson and everyone smiled. "Greta, I'm glad you like butterflies! Here, look!" He and Gil showed her Jackson's card. "Uncle Gil says this one likes milk...um..."

"Milkweed," Gil whispered.

"Yeah, milkweed," Jackson continued. "So he's got a lot in his yard for them." Jackson smiled at the elder CSI. "Uncle Gil, can Greta come with us to see the monarch butterflies?"

"Maybe so," Gil said as he smiled at Greg's children. "I think she might like butterflies as much as you."

"Yeah!" Jackson said with a warm smile.

Gil and Jackson spent the afternoon studying butterflies and talking about different bugs. Jackson loved learning more about his favorite bugs, and Gil had to admit it was a great way to spend a birthday.

 **The End**


End file.
